Moffat Academy Secondary News 2023/24 Term 3
Below are some of our news articles from term 3. Please check out all of our other activities and news on the Whole School Cluster News Page!
Wider Achievement
Ryan and Kathryn Wilson
At D&G Burns Festival ,Ryan got silver in S3/4 bagpiping qualifying him for National Finals at Gourock 23rd March.
Kathryn got bronze in reciting The Rights of Woman in S3/4 recitation.
At national finals Ryan got silver.
Photos of them both show D&G Schools Festival and Ryan on his own at National Finals.
Well done to both!!
Matt Jefford:
A huge congratulations to Matt Jefford S6 who achieved a Merit in his Grade 8 piano exam.
Emily Hume:
Congratulations to Emily Hume (S4) who was been successful in her application for the Science Summer course at Edinburgh Zoo. Emily will spend a week finding out about how zoos work behind the scenes, covering scientific areas such as animal behaviour, welfare, genetic management, ecology and conservation.
Related meta skills: time management, problem solving, communication and collaborative work.
UNCRC article 28 Every child has the right to an education.
UNCRC article 29 Education must develop every child’s personality, talents and abilities to the full. It must encourage the child’s respect for the environment.
Chloe McAleese:
Chloe McAleese from S3 attended Greenlands Equestrian centre just outside Carlisle on Saturday 10th February and represented Moffat Academy at their Show Jumping competition.
She had an extremely successful day! Her horse Master Macauly (a.k.a Strike) was on good form and they came away with a win in the 70cm class and a win in the 80cm class.
What an achievement for the duo, congratulations Chloe and Strike!
Sports Leaders:
All sports events rely on people as volunteers willing to give up their time to help make them happen.
Many thanks to the Sports Leaders from Moffat Academy who have given up their time to help with lots of events so far this year.
S3 Girls Physics Trip
On the 7th of February our female third year Physics students were invited to the Institute of Physics 'Girls into Physics' event. This involved taking part in 6 great workshops where they learned more about Physics, it's applications and the job opportunities available to those with a Physics qualification. We met girls from other schools from all over the country and tried out optic fibres, drones, polaroid tv, UV sensitive beading and competed in a Marble run competition. Briony Bullard, Chloe Harris and Hannah Clark came away with first place for their marble run design. Well done Girls!
YPI Event
On Monday 18th March our S3 cohort hosted a tremendous Young Philanthropy (YPI) event in school. This is a pioneering programme delivered in school, with a focus on supporting people experiencing hardship or difficulty within our community. The aim is for students to participate in a competition, creating presentations bidding for financial support for local charities. This furthers their understanding of issues impacting people around the world, as well as locally, and gives them a chance to take action and help. This programme is supported by YPI and is funded by the Hollywood Trust and Moffat Academy.
Each group represented a local charity throughout the year, with selection of six groups competing in the final showcase. The event was led by students too and they hosted a bake sale (kindly supported by our parents and carers).
Whilst it was a difficult decision due to the high calibre of all presentations, our judges selected a winning group and charity: 3rd Dumfriesshire Scouting Group who were represented by Briony Bullard, Connie Bevins, Liesl Cable, Chloe Harris and Romie Hall.
Senior Edinburgh Zoo Trip
On Friday 15th March all Higher Biology students went on an excursion to Edinburgh zoo.
The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland delivers a programme which aligns with the Higher Biology courses. The pupils learned about various social behaviours shown by animals and used research methods such as ethograms to understand the importance of social behaviours in primates.
A great day was had by everyone!
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UNCRC article 28 and 29
Meta skills - communication, initiative and collaborating.
Outdoor learning
Memorial match goes the way of the pupils.
Staff: 2
Pupils: 7
Moffat Academy was the setting for the annual football match between staff and senior pupils in memory of Finlay Johns, Ian Cannon and Tyler Johnston.
This year’s match resulted in a convincing victory for the senior pupil team and the score does not reflect the ease of the victory.
It was a match played in a tremendous spirit and a fitting tribute to the young men, in whose memory the game is played.
S2 Cross Country House Games
On Friday 9th Friday the S2's participated in the cross country house games. Well done to all of the year group who performed with great determination to finish the course and gain points for their house. Congratulations to Rory and Chloe who won the competition for S2 this year. The house results for the day are Hartfell with 280 and Queensberry with 349, these will be added to all of the results from all house games and the house trophy will be presented at sports day in June.
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UNCRC Article 29 (goals of education)
Education must develop every child’s personality, talents and abilities to the full.
S1 and S3 House Games
On Wednesday 7th February saw the S1 and S3 cross country running house games for the individual cross country running championship and for house points. We enjoyed some fantastic performances on the day and it was superb to see each individual contributing to the overall house score.
Congratulations to the individual winners Julia and George for demonstrating great determination to win the S1 competition. The S1 house points finished Hartfell with 239 and Queensberry with 145.
Also congratulations to the S3 individual winners Liesl and Harry for demonstrating great resilience to win the competition. The S3 house points finished Hartfell with 444 and Queensberry with 248.
These house points will be added together with all the scores from house competitions from throughout the year and the house trophy will be presented on sports day in June.
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UNCRC Article 28
You have the right to a good quality education.
You should be encouraged to go to school to the highest level you can.
S2 first Craft and Design project
S2 first Craft and Design project with Mr Spellacy a resounding success. Pupils have demonstrated design flair and there woodworking prowess with this simple but elegant project. From initial concept ideas to the final evaluations everyone has produced solutions to the best of their abilities. Well done S2, much more to come from this class.
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UNCRC Article 29
Your education should help you use and develop your talents and abilities. It should also help you learn to live peacefully, protect the environment and respect other people.
Jupiter Artland
Moffat young people got the opportunity to see sculpture up close when they spent a day at Jupiter Art land near Edinburgh. Our S2 artists got to learn about and view the work of sculptors such as Charles Jencks, Anish Kapoor and Antony Gormley. A fantastic day was had by all.
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UNCRC Article 31 (leisure, play and culture)
Every child has the right to relax, play and take part in a wide range of cultural and artistic activities.
CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young) Cycle4David2024 Fundraiser
On Monday 11th March 2024, Moffat Academy’s Mountain Bike Club were invited to ride along with CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young) Cycle4David2024 Fundraiser.
Every week in the UK at least 12 young people die of undiagnosed heart conditions. Since its formation in 1995, Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) has been working to reduce the frequency of young sudden cardiac death (YSCD). CRY supports young people diagnosed with potentially life-threatening cardiac conditions and offers bereavement support to families affected by YSCD. CRY promotes and develops heart screening programmes and funds medical research. CRY publishes and distributes medical information written by leading cardiologists for the general public. CRY funds specialist referral, screening and cardiac pathology services at leading UK hospitals.
Full information about Cardiac Risk in the Young and David’s story can be found on their website where you can also donate:
https://www.c-r-y.org.uk/david-hill/ .
The group departed Moffat at 8.30am to cycle to Lockerbie, as part of their third day of the event along the APR road via Johnstonebridge.
Well done to Hannah Clark, Kelvin Anderson, Rhu Montgomerie, Kian McClelland and Fraser Porteous who completed the route and thank you to Mrs Candlish and Miss Denholm who cycled along with our young people.
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UNCRC Article 31 (leisure, play and culture)
Every child has the right to relax, play and take part in a wide range of cultural and artistic activities.
Mountain Bike Club
Some recent Secondary Mountain Bike Club photos - held every Wednesday after school 
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UNCRC Article 31 (leisure, play and culture)
Every child has the right to relax, play and take part in a wide range of cultural and artistic activities.
International Women's Day
We're committed to advancing gender equality across Scotland, including in our schools.
On a visit to Moffat Academy, the First Minister and Cabinet Secretary spoke with young people about their views on International Women's Day and gender equality.
french news
In French, S3 recently took part in an eco-bag competition. Our young people designed a logo with an environmental message in French and 3 winners were chosen from each class. The winning designs were then made into tote bags for the winners to keep!
Well done to Alfie Hughes, Sophie Hulks and Lauren Gourley from 3Q and Cullen Farrell, Lukas Bradshaw and Robyn Daly from 3H. (Thanks to Archie for stepping in to model Lukas' bag in his absence! 
)
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UNCRC Article 29 (goals of education)
Education must develop every child’s personality, talents and abilities to the full.
Regional Cross Country Running Competition
Moffat Academy took sixteen pupils to Dalbeattie to compete in the annual regional cross country running competition against the sixteen secondary schools in the region. The weather was kind to all of the runners however, the conditions under foot were very soft and muddy. This added to the challenge and the enjoyment for the day. The pupils from Moffat represented their school in an excellent manner and demonstrated great determination throughout all of the races. The best result of the day for Moffat was achieved by the S3 girls team of Liesl, Connie and Chelsea who were 2nd in their event.
Library Travel Section Funding
Charlie McMillan and Eileen Roberts of the Moffat and District Twinning Association contacted Moffat Academy last year to donate funds totalling £1899.78 - this came about sadly due to the closure sure of the association.
However, the funds were put to good use in the creation of a Cultural / Travel / Tourism section of the library dedicated to encouraging young people to understand and explore different people and places in the world, hopefully making them curious to travel in the future.
Interestingly, Charlie and Eileen of the association said that twinning partnerships were created after the war in an effort to encourage cultures to understand each other better and as a result hopefully prevent conflict and war in the future.
Moffat Academy are really grateful for this donation and Tessa Gibbon (our school librarian) has done a great job of creating a bright, interesting and cozy seated travel section of our library. Charlie and Eileen were very impressed and pleased with the new library area.
Ellisland Farm Visit S1
S1 attended a day trip to Ellisland Farm in Dumfries, to celebrate and commemorate our national poet Robert Burns. As this historical site belonged to Burns - and was the site of creation for many of his poems - students were walking through history throughout the day.
From small tours of the farmland, farmhouse and surrounding areas, to a riverside walk along which Burns wrote Tam O'Shanter, they were immersed in history and literature throughout. They also enjoyed a Burns Supper - haggis, neeps 'n' tatties and all. Thank you to Tia Crooke and Collette Lindsay, both of whom gave tremendous poetry readings of 'Ae Fond Kiss' and 'A Red, Red Rose' respectively. Thank you, also, to Mr McPhee, who gave a rousing rendition of the 'Address to a Haggis'.
Senior Residential Trip to Rome
On Friday 23rd February our Moffat Academy Senior Rome group landed successfully and were straight out for a busy day of sightseeing. A lot of walking took them across the city centre, visiting: the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. We returned to the hotel for a brief break, before heading out for dinner and a spot of bowling. Whilst a tiring day, they’re raring to head out to some key historical sites throughout Saturday.
After a bright and early start, on day two we headed down to the Arch of Constantine to meet our tour guide for the morning. We walked through history, learning about the progression from Roman Republic to the Empire through the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill.
The group then had a little bit of free time, with a small group opting to visit the Basilica of St Clemente for a (semi) guided tour with Miss McNaughton. The group headed down into the bowels of the basilica, immersing themselves in the cult of Mithras through the preserved mithraeum.
After some time at the hotel to relax - or head over to do a spot of shopping - we were on the move again. We enjoyed a three course meal, and headed back to the Trevi Fountain to appreciate its architecture lit up against the night sky.
Our final day in Rome took us to the religious epicentre: the Vatican and St Peter’s Basilica.
We learned about Nero’s persecution of the Christians and the ‘Great Fire’ before Constantine’s subsequent acceptance (and support) of the religion. In visiting St Peter’s Basilica (a victim of Nero’s persecution) they were in awe of the scale and beauty of the building.
They enjoyed some free time to explore the area around Vatican City, before heading back to the hotel to get ready to return home.
Plenty of pasta, pizza and history (and walking) enjoyed by all!
